By John Manuel
May 30, 2002

Tallahassee Regional

1. Florida State (56-12). 2. Central Florida (40-20). 3. South Florida (33-27). 4. Stetson (42-17).

Best Player: SS Stephen Drew, Fr., Florida State. The guy's slugging .712 with a .969 fielding percentage at the second-most important defensive position (behind catcher). And he has 14 homers and 11 steals after playing in just 40 of FSU's 68 games. If he hadn't broken a bone in his foot, Drew might have become the first freshman to win our College Player of the Year award. He's that good.

The Favorite: Florida State is the hottest team in the tournament, not just this region, with 22 straight wins. It's a team with few weaknesses, depth on the mound and a lineup rivaled only by Texas and Stanford nationally, and a team with a chip on its shoulder. It's time to win one for coach Mike Martin.

But Don't Forget About: Central Florida has regional experience (having reached regional finals at FSU in 2000 and at South Carolina in '01), a bevy of power arms and a young, talented lineup led by freshmen OFs Clay Timpner and Dee Brown.

Watch Out For: Stetson was rolling along until injuries claimed the left side of its infield in mashing 3B Brian Snyder and SS Rusty Beale, a fine defender. One of the better No. 4 seeds, the Hatters could get their groove back in time to scare someone.

Just Happy To Be Here: South Florida. To repeat: The seventh-place team in Conference USA should not get a regional bid.

1. South Alabama (41-17). 2. Notre Dame (44-15). 3. Ohio State (36-18-1). 4. Kent State (37-20).

Best Player: OF Steve Stanley, Sr., Notre Dame. Simply the best leadoff man in the nation.

The Favorite: Notre Dame had a great chance to win a regional last year and blew it at home, losing to Florida International. The experience should serve this veteran team well. Another regional loss would further damage the baseball reputation of the Big East, which took a step back this year with only one regional berth.

But Don't Forget About: South Alabama has gone to more regionals without winning one than any other team. Winning the Sun Belt isn't easy, but to win the regional the Jags need a good effort from struggling sophomore RHP Clark Girardeau.

Watch Out For: No one.

Just Happy To Be Here: Ohio State and Kent State are tournament winners from the Midwest. It still is going to be a shock if such a team wins a regional.

1. Southern California (34-22). 2. Cal State Northridge (40-15). 3. Maine (40-15). 4. Brigham Young (29-29-1).

Best Player: 2B Shaun Larkin, Sr., Cal State Northridge. His .508 on-base percentage tells you all you need to know about his professional approach at the plate.

The Favorite: Northridge didn't play last weekend and needed the rest for well-worked pitchers Bill Murphy, Andy Davidson and Kameron Loe. The Big West champion probably deserved the top seed, but CSUN thrives on its perceived lack of respect. Coach Mike Batesole, who is leaving after the season for Fresno State, would love nothing more than to knock off the Trojans on his way out.

But Don't Forget About: Southern California. What a coach Mike Gillespie is. His Trojans went on the road for 22 games, lost their two best pitchers for the first half (one for the whole year), and got nothing offensively from Anthony Lunetta. USC doesn't catch or run well, so Gillespie shifted gears and relied on mashers Bill Peavy, Alberto Concepcion and Joey Metropoulos. He adjusted, and the Trojans won the Pac-10.

Watch Out For: No one.

Just Happy To Be Here: Maine and Brigham Young. Nice trip for the Black Bears, who fly across the country while the rest of the country was limited to regional bus trips. BYU won't have to worry about playing on Sunday.

1. Stanford (40-16). 2. Long Beach State (37-19). 3. San Jose State (45-15). 4. Cal State Fullerton (36-20).

Best Player: RHP Jeremy Guthrie, Jr., Stanford. As hot as any No. 1 starter out there.

The Favorite: It's too close to call in the best regional ever. Bay Area baseball fans should turn out in droves at Sunken Diamond. We'll never see a regional like this again--we hope.

But Don't Forget About: Anyone. Stanford's pitching has come around, especially Guthrie, but the Cardinal is vulnerable in the bullpen. The Cardinal is also the best offensive team here. Long Beach State's pitching has been magnificent most of the year, and sophomore LHP Abe Alvarez has regained his early form. San Jose State and Fullerton both have pitchers who can beat anyone in RHPs Matt Durkin and Wes Littleton.

Watch Out For: The Spartans have to be considered the dark horse, but every coach that has seen them respects the heck out of that team. Deep on the mound, sound in the field, fundamentally sound and an all-around better team than the 2000 CWS club. Watch for senior C Adam Shorsher, a clutch hitter with power.

Just Happy To Be Here: George Horton insists he's not upset at being a No. 4 seed; he's just glad the Titans got a bid. If RHP Darric Merrell regains his freshman form next year, the Titans will be a threat to win the College World Series, but this year's model has struggled against stronger competition--9-14 vs. tournament teams.

1. Texas (48-14). 2. Baylor (34-24). 3. Lamar (35-22). 4. Central Connecticut State (34-21).

Best Player: LHP Justin Simmons, Soph., Texas. Only one loss all year and came back later in the Big 12 tournament and shook it off.

The Favorite: Texas has kept on chugging through all its turmoil. This is the deepest team in the country and has solved its biggest problem (closer) with a flourish. Freshman RHP Huston Street has matured into one of the nation's best. It's hard to imagine the Longhorns not winning this event.

But Don't Forget About: No one.

Watch Out For: Baylor has the pitching to win a regional, but RHPs Steven White and Kyle Edens haven't pitched to their first-half form, and LHP Jared Theodorakis is too inconsistent.

Just Happy To Be Here: Lamar's Jim Galligan has a consistent program, though it had to win the Southland tournament to get here. Central Connecticut's Charlie Hickey, the former Providence coach, is in his second regional in four seasons.

1. Houston (44-15). 2. Arizona State (35-19). 3. San Diego (36-20). 4. New Mexico State (37-23).

Best Player: RHP Brad Sullivan, Soph., Houston. The nation's most dominant starter and probably the nation's best pitch, a filthy slider.

The Favorite: Houston is road-tested and has beaten Top 25 teams all year. Nearly half of its losses have come to two teams: Rice (1-4) and East Carolina (1-3). RHP/SS Jesse Crain hasn't given up an earned run all year, and the Cougars had the depth to overcome injuries that have riddled the outfield. OF Michael Bourne is one of the nation's fastest players.

But Don't Forget About: Arizona State has done well considering it never played at a true home field this season. Now the Sun Devils play host to a regional at Ho Ho Kam Stadium. They should thank Gary Ward for getting New Mexico State in and necessitating, in the committee's mind, a regional within 400 miles of Las Cruces. These Sun Devils aren't overwhelmingly talented, but Pat Murphy's bunch is plucky and won't go down without a fight. The return of OF Andre Ethier (broken bone in hand) helps the offense.

Watch Out For: San Diego was a legit Top 25 team before losing SS Ben Quinto. In LHP Ricky Barrett, OF/LHP Tom Caple and DH/3B David Bagley, the Toreros have the impact players to win three or four games in a weekend.

Just Happy To Be Here: New Mexico State is a great success story. What irony to have the Ward-coached Aggies in while Oklahoma State sits at home.

1. Louisiana State (40-19). 2. Louisiana-Lafayette (37-21). 3. Tulane (35-25). 4. Southern (45-8).

Best Player: 2B Rickie Weeks, Soph., Southern. More tools than Home Depot.

The Favorite: LSU was on fire until the SEC tournament, losing two to South Carolina. Only the Gamecocks have beaten the Tigers twice in a week since mid-March (doing it twice), and that will continue if their starting pitching--LHP Lane Mestepey, RHPs Bo Pettit and Brian Wilson--continues its second-half success.

But Don't Forget About: Louisiana-Lafayette. Many of the faces have changed, but Tony Robichaux still coaches the Ragin' Cajuns, and LHPs Andy Gros and Justin Gabriel are two holdovers from the team's run to Omaha in 2000. With their pitching, Robichaux's savvy and this team's experience, the Cajuns are a dangerous team that will not be intimidated.

Watch Out For: Tulane. If Michael Aubrey's back is healthy, and if Beau Richardson pitches like he did last year against LSU in the super-regional, Tulane can give this field fits. The Green Wave barely got a bid, thanks mostly to a 7-3 finish. But it has the talent to make the most of its chance.

Just Happy To Be Here: Southern should be allowed to travel. The rest of the nation is being denied a chance to see Weeks perform, so try to catch him with Team USA this summer.

1. Rice (47-11). 2. Texas Tech (41-18). 3. Washington (30-25-1). 4. Harvard (20-24).

Best Player: 1B Vince Sinisi, Fr., Rice. All he does is hit.

The Favorite: Rice hasn't lost a series all year, and with Lamar in another region, it should be in good shape. (Rice went just 4-5 against Southland Conference teams this year.) One of the nation's deepest lineups may have to overcome shaky defense, but more important is the freshness of young arms like RHPs Phil Humber, Jeff Niemann and David Aardsma.

But Don't Forget About: Texas Tech. Larry Hays just keeps churning out 40-win teams in Lubbock. This team adjusted when injuries slowed slugging 3B/DH Nick Blankenship, with SS Gera Alvarez picking up the offensive slack. Steve Rowe is an effective, versatile closer.

Watch Out For: Washington may be the most talented team in the regional, led by OFs Jay Garthwaite and Tyler Davidson and RHP Sean White. If White harnesses his control for a start, he can dominate, as can offspeed master Shawn Kohn. The Huskies have looked good on paper all year; it's time to look good on the field.

Just Happy To Be Here: Harvard has been to Houston before. Next year, let's see Harvard use some of its endowment money and bid (with other Boston area teams) to put a regional in the Northeast, whether it's at Fenway, Lowell or Brockton.

On to Part 2.